“Could It Be That All of You... Have the Brains of Pigs?”
“Vice Minister Su, you also took part in the construction of the Daoist temple. Come out and say a few words,” someone called.
Emperor Hongjia said, “Vice Minister Su, Zhen heard Third Son mention earlier that the account books were in your hands, is that right?”
Su Ruhe stepped out and cupped his hands in salute. “Replying to Your Majesty, the account books are indeed with this minister.”
“Did Prince Li truly embezzle silver?” Minister of Revenue Xu Mengshan hurriedly asked.
Lowering his eyes with the utmost meekness and honesty, Su Ruhe said, “This minister does not know.”
“You... the account books are in your hands, and all silver disbursements were meant to pass through your notice. How can you not know? Or are you shielding Prince Li?”
Su Ruhe said, “Your Majesty, this subject is not well acquainted with His Highness. In the beginning, this minister visited the prince’s residence several times to reconcile the accounts, but His Highness was utterly absorbed in the Prince Consort’s beauty and paid this minister no mind, so this minister eventually stopped going.”
Everyone: “?”
At first hearing, it sounded absurd.
Upon finer thought, it sounded even more absurd.
Lu Ronghuai revealed a satisfied smile and lifted his chin. “There, you see? Even Minister Su knows that This Prince is fond of beauty. As for corruption, do I lack for that little bit of silver?”
Emperor Hongjia: “...”
Emperor Hongjia drew his face stern. “You still have the nerve to say that, being so lustful?”
Lu Ronghuai swept his wide sleeve. “This son favors only one person’s beauty. Does such single-minded devotion not deserve mention? It is unlike some of them, who visit the pleasure houses with remarkable diligence.”
The entire civil and military court: “...”
“Does Vice Minister Su have the account books on him?” Emperor Hongjia turned his aching gaze away and looked toward the quiet, silent Su Ruhe.
Su Ruhe took the account books from his sleeve and presented them to the emperor.
Emperor Hongjia flipped through them once and nodded in satisfaction. “Vice Minister Su has kept these accounts well. The organization is clear, and everything is plain at a glance. The rest of you may look as well. Every single entry is recorded distinctly, including the purchase of timber, which was made using the finest golden-thread nanmu.”
“Naturally. When this son had Vice Minister Su keep the accounts, it was because I had my eye on how reliable he was. Was this son’s judgment not sound?” Lu Ronghuai asked Emperor Hongjia.
Emperor Hongjia said, “Hold your tongue.”
He had already been impeached, yet he still had the cheek to stand there so shamelessly.
Xu Mengshan said, “If golden-thread nanmu was truly used, then how could it have collapsed before even being fully completed?”
“Someone must have filled his own belly and substituted inferior goods for the real thing.”
Lu Ronghuai applauded. “Well said. This Prince thinks the same.”
Xu Mengshan turned his head away in displeasure.
While everyone argued, someone soon arrived from outside the hall. It was the commander of the Jinlin Guards, dispatched by imperial command to investigate the situation at the Daoist temple.
“What exactly happened?” Emperor Hongjia asked urgently.
The commander replied, “Reporting to Your Majesty, the Daoist temple truly did collapse. It crushed more than a hundred people to death.”
The ministers at once exploded into uproar.
“More than a hundred people, this is no small matter.”
“Indeed. So many people died for no reason at all. How is this to be answered for?”
Emperor Hongjia’s mood had turned foul to the extreme. Gripping the armrest tightly, he asked with a dark face, “Has the cause of the temple’s collapse been found?”
“The damage to the temple is severe. This subordinate discovered broken crossbeams and pillars inside. Outwardly, those beams appeared normal, but inside they were all rotten and decayed.”
“So the timber really was switched. To build a structure with such rotten wood is utterly devoid of conscience.” Xu Mengshan’s voice rang loud and full.
Quite a few officials nodded in agreement.
Emperor Hongjia demanded of Lu Ronghuai, “Third Son, what is the meaning of this?”
“This son had only just returned to the capital last month. At that time, affairs in the residence were numerous, so this son handed the selection and transport of the timber entirely over to Minister Chen.”
Chen Youwei immediately said, “This minister acted wholly according to His Highness’s instructions. Golden-thread nanmu truly was delivered to the warehouse, and many craftsmen were present at the time. They can testify for this minister. This minister has not spoken a single false word.”
“Vice Minister Su can testify for this minister. It was Minister Su who disbursed the funds for the timber to this minister as well,” Chen Youwei added quickly.
Su Ruhe said, “That is correct. This minister disbursed the funds.”
Lu Ronghuai walked up before Chen Youwei. “Minister Chen, This Prince has a question.”
“Your Highness, please ask.”
“Though the storehouse was not far from the Daoist temple, the craftsmen at the time ought to have been occupied with their work. What were they all doing at the storehouse?”
Having heard the question, Chen Youwei replied at once, “The timber was heavy. This minister called them over to help move it.”
“Moving timber is hardly something finished in the blink of an eye. Would that not mean no one was left at the Daoist temple to keep watch and continue the work?” Lu Ronghuai’s expression darkened with dissatisfaction, clearly displeased by Chen Youwei’s actions.
Someone stepped out and spoke in Chen Youwei’s defense. “His Highness has been acting as a hands-flinging shopkeeper, so Minister Chen, being overwhelmed, called men over to help. That is understandable.”
Chen Youwei sighed. “Your Highness, this minister had already seen that the temple was short of hands. Later, this minister even recruited another batch of workers. Otherwise, it would simply have been impossible to finish by the appointed date.”
“You never reported that to This Prince.”
“Your Highness never asked after any matter regarding the Daoist temple either.” Chen Youwei looked utterly innocent.
“Precisely. This Prince never managed any of it. Then on what grounds do all of you think the switched timber was my doing?” Lu Ronghuai straightened his sleeve cuffs and asked the question with perfect composure.
“This Prince does not have three heads and six arms, and military power has long since been handed over to Father Emperor. The guards at my side number only two or three men within the residence. Minister Chen needed a large body of craftsmen just to move all the timber, so does everyone truly believe that This Prince could have secretly swapped it out with only two or three people?”
“Could it be that all of you... have the brains of pigs?”
Everyone: “...”
“And Minister Chen, earlier you accused This Prince of diverting silver. With neither proof nor evidence, from where did such a claim arise?”
Meeting Prince Li’s eyes, dark and deep as an abyss, Chen Youwei answered calmly, “One of the aides in Your Highness’s residence. This minister personally saw him take vouchers stamped with Your Highness’s private seal to Vice Minister Su and withdraw a great amount of silver.”
Lu Ronghuai slowly parted his lips. “Minister Chen, one must have evidence before making accusations.”
Chen Youwei turned to Emperor Hongjia, his gaze earnest. “Your Majesty, this minister asks that the aide be summoned into the hall. Prince Li trusted this aide greatly. During the construction of the Daoist temple, this man repeatedly came in Prince Li’s stead to inspect matters and lend assistance.”
“Summon him,” Emperor Hongjia said coldly.
At this moment, Grand Tutor Xu, who had not spoken until now, suddenly said, “Your Majesty, those hundred-plus commoners who died need to be dealt with at once.”
Only then did Emperor Hongjia notice that the commander of the guards was still kneeling upon the floor. He understood Grand Tutor Xu’s meaning and said to the commander, “This matter is entrusted to you. Soothe their kin well. Give each family... ten taels of silver as compensation.”
After hearing this, the commander did not at once accept the order. Instead, he hesitated as if there were something he wished to say and yet dared not.
“What is it?” Seeing something amiss in his expression, Emperor Hongjia asked again.
“Replying to Your Majesty, those crushed to death were not the craftsmen constructing the Daoist temple.”
“What?” Chen Youwei was the first to cry out in alarm.
The commander served under direct imperial authority and ignored Chen Youwei. Only when Emperor Hongjia asked did he continue his explanation.
“When this subordinate arrived, the corpses had already been dug out. After everyone identified them, aside from a few bodies too mangled to recognize, among those whose faces could still be seen, some were... guards of the Eastern Palace.”
“Another portion belonged to Minister Chen’s household. The rest were local ruffians and hooligans who regularly preyed upon the common people and were thus recognized by all.”
Once the commander finished speaking, the whole court looked as though a hand had closed around their throat. Their expressions became a spectacle in themselves.
“How astonishing.” Lu Ronghuai curved his lips as he looked at the Crown Prince and Chen Youwei. “How curious that men from your two households should happen to have gone to the Daoist temple, and more curious still that they should all happen to have been crushed to death there.”
Chen Youwei was still stuck in shock, and the Crown Prince was even more bewildered.
At that very moment, Cheng Zhi, who had been summoned, hurried breathlessly to the outside of the hall. After being announced, he strode quickly inside.
“This commoner Cheng Zhi kowtows before Your Majesty. May Your Majesty live ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand of ten thousand years.”
“Rise. You are the aide in Third Son’s residence?”
“Replying to Your Majesty, this commoner is.”
“Very well. Then Zhen asks you this: Minister Chen says you once took vouchers stamped with Third Son’s private seal to withdraw silver. Is this true?”
Kneeling on the floor, his gray robe washed pale with age, Cheng Zhi answered respectfully, “Replying to Your Majesty, this commoner did indeed withdraw silver several times on His Highness’s behalf.”
“In total, how much?”
Cheng Zhi opened his mouth, but he did not dare lift his head to face the emperor. Even so, the expression upon his face was visible to all.
Emperor Hongjia frowned. “Zhen is asking you a question.”
“Replying to Your Majesty, it was... three million guan’s worth of silver.”
After he said those words, the cool, indifferent sound of Lu Ronghuai’s laughter came from above him.
Cheng Zhi lowered his head even further, kneeling there in terror and unease.
“Three million guan? That means half of it was directly swallowed whole.” The remonstrating official said this with fierce indignation.
“Third Son, what more do you have to say? This is someone from your own residence.” After hearing Cheng Zhi’s answer, Emperor Hongjia’s face became so blank it nearly vanished from his face.
Lu Ronghuai stared at the top of Cheng Zhi’s head and said, “The vouchers. Bring them out, and let This Prince have a look.”
Cheng Zhi took out a rolled bundle of vouchers from his sleeve.
Eunuch Yuan Sheng first brought them to Emperor Hongjia for inspection. Only after that did he draw out two and hand them to Lu Ronghuai.
Lu Ronghuai pinched the voucher between two fingers and looked once at the seal stamped on it. Everyone was watching him. Then, on that cold and sharply chiseled face, a smile suddenly bloomed.
“Interesting.”
“What is interesting about it?” Emperor Hongjia was left completely bewildered by him.
“The seal stamped above this is not this son’s private seal.”
Cheng Zhi blurted out, “Impossible. His Highness handed it to this lowly one with his own hands.”
Lu Ronghuai removed the sachet hanging at his waist and, before everyone’s eyes, drew out his Snow Wolf private seal from within it.
The moment Cheng Zhi saw that seal, his eyes widened of their own accord. He stared at it in disbelief, and his heart suddenly began pounding wildly.
Lu Ronghuai handed the seal to Emperor Hongjia. “Father Emperor, look carefully. Is this seal the same as the one on the voucher?”
Emperor Hongjia compared the two seals with care and finally let out a breath. “They are not the same, but the characters upon both seals are of your handwriting, Third Son.”
“That is so. Yet the seal on the voucher was one this son carved in private merely for amusement and gave to the Prince Consort as a trifling toy. This son has no idea how it ended up in his hands.”
Cheng Zhi jerked his head up in alarm, his eyes brimming with shock. “What?”
Lu Ronghuai relaxed his fingers slightly, and the voucher fluttered down lightly, landing upon the floor tiles before Cheng Zhi.
Looking down upon him from above, Lu Ronghuai smiled the contented smile of a hunter finally seeing his prey fall into the net.
Cheng Zhi’s pupils contracted sharply.
“Lower your head and look carefully. When that seal is turned upside down, what character does it become?”
Cheng Zhi lowered his head in a daze.
The voucher was at that moment facing him in reverse. His gaze fell upon the seal, and when he had made out what was carved there, a chill spread through his whole body, and his bones went instantly soft.
Yuan.
Upon the seal there was engraved the single character “Yuan,” the Yuan of Chu Yuan.
✧ A Word from the Author ✧
Lu dog: Ah ha, surprising, is it not? Unexpected, was it not?
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